1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of personal communication devices such as cellular phones and pagers, and in particular to the field of remote notification devices that alert users of personal communication devices of incoming calls, messages, or pages.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern personal communication devices, such as cellular phones and pagers, typically alert users of an incoming call, message, or page with some sort of signal. These signals generally take the form of an audible ring, a vibration, a visual signal such as a light, or some combination of the foregoing. These signals typically originate from the cellular phone or pager itself. In most social situations, this type of notification is adequate, as the user is within sight of, able to hear, or in physical contact with their cellular phone or pager.
The balance of this statement of the problem will be stated in terms of an incoming call to a cellular phone, though the concepts apply equally to a pager or other personal communication device, such as a conventional cordless phone.
People in loud, crowded places such as bars or dance clubs are often neither within sight of, able to hear, nor in physical contact with their cellular phone. For example, for reasons of preference, style, protection of the phone, security, and convenience, women at crowded bars often prefer to keep their cellular phones in their purses rather than in a pocket or on a table or the bar. These women often cannot see their cellular phone because it is contained within an opaque purse. Nor can these women hear their cellular phone ring, due to ambient noise from such sources as music and other patrons. And these women are obviously not in physical contact with their cellular phones while those phones are in their purses, hence the vibrate option on their cellular phone is incapable of notifying them of the incoming call. As a result of this decision to place their cellular phone in their purses, many women miss many incoming calls. This causes inconvenience, disruption to social lives, and has the potential to render these women unreachable in important and emergency situations. There is a need for a device to alert these cellular phone users to the fact that their cellular phone is currently receiving an incoming call.
Cellular phones are well known. Furthermore, there are certain devices in the art remote from cellular phones that alert users to an incoming call. These devices typically take the form, however, of an earpiece or headset designed to allow the user to receive and conduct a phone call without holding the phone to the user's ear. The purpose of these devices is to free the user's hands for other tasks such as driving a car, working at a computer, taking notes, or handling documents. An example of this type of device is the JABRAÂ®Earsetâ, described at http://www.jabra.com/products/earset.htm. While these devices do free their users from having to be within sight, able to hear, or in physical contact with their cellular phones, they do not meet the needs that are met by the present invention.
The cellular phone users for which the present invention was conceived typically women at loud, crowded bars and clubs do not want to wear an earpiece or a headset while socializing. On the occasions that women go to bars and clubs, they design their appearance by selecting certain clothes, jewelry, shoes, makeup, and other accessories. Among the reasons that women choose to keep their cellular phones in their purses is the fact that they often choose not to wear clothes that would provide a pocket adequate for a cellular phone. Furthermore, even if they choose to wear an outfit having such a pocket, they would rather not keep their cellular phone in the pocket, for reasons of comfort and appearance. In short, aesthetics are important, and the appearance of the earpieces and headsets described above are aesthetically undesirable in the social situations for which the present invention is designed. While it is important to solve the problem of missed calls, it is also important to provide an incoming-call remote notification device that does not disrupt women's desired appearance.
There is a need for a device that alerts a cellular phone user of an incoming call, message, or page in situations where the user is neither in sight of, able to hear, nor in physical contact with their cellular phone, without negatively impacting the user's desired appearance.